Starting... then starting again... and then again....

So I started my curved shawl this evening, using my red Merino Oro which has been sitting patiently in my stash for several years.

That first row was nasty. The cast on is the loop cast-on, which is nice and soft and lacy, but it slips and slides around like crazy. Working the k3togs in that mess was No Fun. I'm using Addi Turbos, which is probably not the best choice because of the markedly not-sharp points and the slipperiness, but they're the only size 3 circs I have, so I'm going with 'em for now. I had to start over multiple times, and it's a good thing the kids were in bed, because there were some not-ladylike words said over it. And when I had finally gotten past that first awful row, and had completed a few more rows, I took a look at the cast-on edge and realized that somehow I had managed to break the yarn at one point, so it was sneakily unraveling on me. More not-ladylike words were uttered. I may have threatened to toss the entire ball of Merino Oro into the fireplace. My husband slipped quietly into another room for awhile.

But I think I'm finally in a zone, of sorts. I cast on and picked my tortuous way across that first row, and then onward. I've completed the fourth 4-row repeat and it's starting to take shape, and I'm even starting to see how the lace pattern is working. If my yarn doesn't betray me by breaking again, I should be in good shape....